Peace deal seen to open Mindanao to investment

The Department of Trade and Industry expects the signing of the Bangsamoro Peace Agreement to open up Mindanao to investment opportunities, particularly in the agriculture sector.

In a statement quoting his keynote address in the Invest Philippines Business Forum at the Financial Club in Jakarta, Indonesia, Trade Undersecretary Ponciano C. Manalo Jr.  said Mindanao was a “fertile ground for palm oil, rubber and coconut production, aquaculture, fisheries, food manufacturing and other agribusiness activities.”

“We can foresee the growth curves that we will have in Mindanao in the next 10 to 15 years. It is clearly an area of growth and development, and while our investment plea is not limited to Mindanao, if you look at spots in the country that are truly going to be big growth areas, they are in Mindanao,” Manalo said.

The DTI is developing economic zones and incentive packages for specific areas to encourage investors to do business in Mindanao and help boost economic growth, he added.

Manalo and representatives from National Development Co. (NDC) were in Jakarta to explore areas of cooperation with the government of Indonesia.

NDC is a government-owned corporation mandated to promote economic development through assistance in commercial, industrial, mining, agricultural and other enterprises.

The Philippine delegation met with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Jakarta to pursue initial discussions that started last year when Indonesia’s State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan visited the Philippines.

Manalo also met with key executives in the agricultural, banking, energy and pharmaceutical sectors.

According to the DTI, the business mission to Jakarta yielded positive results. It will be followed by a ministerial mission and bilateral discussions with the Indonesian trade minister.

The business mission and investment forum were organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center of the Embassy of the Philippines in Jakarta in partnership with Indonesia’s Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) and PT Balmater Consulting Co.

Aside from promoting the Philippines, the forum also featured a discussion on the Asean integration and other issues, challenges and opportunities that Asean countries were facing as they prepare for the planned creation of Asean Economic Community in 2015.

“We are happy to hear about the developments and business opportunities in the Philippines. The business forum really helped us understand how to do business in the Philippines and it affirms our interest to explore investment opportunities in the country,” added Andrew Linggar, business development head of Gentong Gotri, a tobacco company.